George Kelly
(1961) distinguished between different types of suicidal act,
and this taxonomy can be elaborated to encompass varieties of non-fatal
self-harm. While, as with suicide, some of these may occur in the
context of either a chaotic or a fatalistic view of the world, others
may, for example, be
associated with the impulsivity consequent upon a foreshortening of the
Circumspection-Preemption-Control Cycle.
A personal construct
formulation of an individual’s self-harm allows therapeutic
interventions to be focused upon the aspects of construing concerned,
and there is research evidence that such an approach is more effective
than normal clinical practice with clients who self-harm (Winter et
al., 2000).

References

Kelly,
G.A. (1961). Theory and therapy in suicide: the personal construct
point of view. In M. Farberow and E. Shneidman (eds.), The Cry for
Help. New York: McGraw-Hill.